Citizen Zoo and Partners to Transform Tolworth Court Farm into a Premier Rewilding Nature Reserve in London.

20/03/2024

A Vision of Co-curated Rewilding

Despite being home to ancient hedgerows, a locally significant population of brown hairstreak butterflies and a small fragment of wetland, the series of seven meadows spanning 42 ha is far from reaching its ecological potential. Our shared vision is to establish a dynamic, mixed-mosaic nature reserve that nurtures a more diverse and abundant wildlife population. Through innovative rewilding measures inspired by rural projects such as mixed grazing regimes, we aim to restore and enhance the site’s ecological balance while honouring its rich cultural heritage.

For the past two years, Citizen Zoo, alongside its dedicated partners, has laid the groundwork for an inclusive rewilding vision at TCF. Having undertaken extensive ecological surveys, community consultations, and feasibility studies, the initiative will implement significant measures to transform the site into London’s flagship rewilding site.

Restoring Habitats, Connecting Communities

With this new funding, the focus shifts to restoring the site’s historic wetland habitats and enhancing its significance for local wildlife. The newly created wetland component will mirror the historical flow of the Hogsmill River, which once flowed through the western corner of the site. Not only will this restore the ecological integrity of the remnant wetland, but also celebrate the historical heritage of the site.

Taking inspiration from rural rewilding projects, a guild of grazing animals will be introduced to drive a dynamic ecosystem that will forever evolve. Grazing by cattle and wild boar analogues naturally enhances habitats by promoting plant diversity, aerating the soil, and maintaining open spaces. Their activities help distribute nutrients and create conditions favourable for a wide range of species, improving ecosystem functionality.

Citizen Zoo and The Community Brain are organising a range of engagement workshops, wildlife walks, and talks to deepen the bond between people and nature. The aim is to foster a community-wide appreciation and care for local biodiversity. The workshops will involve building co-created site ‘gateways’ to raise the profile of the site and educate visitors about the natural and social heritage of the area. Additionally, there will be several engagement activities, including scything workshops, bat and wildlife walks, and the creation of a Wild Guardian scheme. The scheme will enlist local people to help monitor and manage the site.

A Greener Future for Tolworth Court Farm Fields

Lucas Ruzo, Citizen Zoo CEO said: “It’s deeply exciting to imagine what will happen to Wild Tolworth in the years to come. The land is set to become a beacon of positive transformation and will redefine what we can expect for nature and people in a mega metropolis like London. We hope it will inspire others to follow this path.”

Robin Hutchinson, Director of The Community Brain CIC said: “The Community Brain and Citizen Zoo have been working in the Tolworth area for some time and this wonderful funding will help to realise a number of local ambitions to significantly enhance and rewild Tolworth Court Farm Fields helping to further strengthen and develop the local communities relationship and engagement with this beautiful green space.”

Acknowledgements and Future Vision

Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. The Wild Tolworth Project is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to maximise biodiversity at this site.

In addition to this, the project has also received significant funding from The Mayor of London’s Rewild London 3 Fund, which is funding projects working in around 40 SINCs and plans to restore or create almost 125 ha of habitat. In this round of funding, there is a focus on involving Londoners in nature, whether in surveying species, supporting work to improve habitats, or learning about minimising their impact on nature.

Wild Tolworth has also benefited from funding from the Capital Parks Programme, Kingston Council’s South of the Borough Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy, and ZSL.

Citizen Zoo is excited to lead this transformative wildlife rewilding journey at Wild Tolworth, showcasing the power of community-led rewilding. This project exemplifies our mission to involve communities directly in rewilding, highlighting the collective impact we can achieve for our natural environment and future generations.

About Citizen Zoo

At Citizen Zoo, we want to create a world filled with wildlife. We realise this mission by restoring habitats back to their functional states, reintroducing species to their former ranges, and empowering people and communities to take action to protect their natural heritage. Citizen Zoo is an organisation committed to rewilding, with a passionate team working to restore nature one species and habitat at a time.

About The Community Brain

The Community Brain believes in giving people ‘permission’ to be brilliant, because everyone can be brilliant if they are given the support and encouragement. This permission enables people to create the futures they want to see for themselves and that of their communities, on their own terms. The Community Brain does this by putting stories, creativity and a never-ending passion for laughter, fun and play at the heart of all their our work. By liberating people through participation we hope to build a future for communities which is more mutual, more local, more equitable and more sustainable.

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund

As the largest dedicated funder of the UK’s heritage, The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033.

Over the next ten years, the Heritage Fund aims to invest £3.6 billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to bring about benefits for people, places and the natural environment.

The Heritage Fund helps protect, transform and share the things from the past that people care about, from popular museums and historic places, our natural environment and fragile species, to the languages and cultural traditions that celebrate who we are.

The Heritage Fund is passionate about heritage and committed to driving innovation and collaboration to make a positive difference to people’s lives today while leaving a lasting legacy for future generations to enjoy.

Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund  www.heritagefund.org.uk.